Search form

Student Protest Against Iraq War Triggers Suspensions in Clash with Administration

Student Protest Against Iraq War Triggers Suspensions in Clash with
Administration

By JULIA WELLS

A peaceful student protest against war in Iraq bubbled into a
spontaneous walkout at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School
this week that left two students suspended, another 80 facing possible
suspension, and a nearly equal number of parents who came of age in the
1960s shaking their heads.

The two students who were suspended said yesterday morning they
believe their civil rights were violated and that they were singled out
unfairly.

"It just kind of upsets me. Everyone was sharing their own
opinion and I felt it was okay for me to share my opinion. I think
it's taking away my freedom of speech," said Rachel Lucier,
a sophomore and resident of Edgartown.

On Thursday morning, high school principal Peg Regan offered a
choice to the 80-plus students who walked out on Wednesday: Attend an
hour-long educational session on civil disobedience on Saturday morning
or be suspended for two days.

Mr. Schilcher, who participated in the walkout, openly urged the
group to choose suspension over what is known among students as Saturday
school.

Ms. Lucier, who is president of her class, is credited with sparking
the walkout that followed the school-sanctioned peace rally.

For their words, both Ms. Lucier and Mr. Schilcher were handed
two-day suspensions yesterday in addition to the punishment being
offered to the rest of the students who walked out.

"One student [Ms. Lucier] I believe jeopardized the safety of
the school by inviting the other students to walk out, and the other
student [Mr. Schilcher] I believe jeopardized the education of his peers
by inviting students to not attend the Saturday session," said
Mrs. Regan, who did not name the students.

Mrs. Regan had strong words of praise for the student rally, but she
said the walkout left her with no choice but to take disciplinary
action.

Both Ms. Lucier and Mr. Schilcher said they harbored no illusions
about the consequences of the walkout, but both expressed surprise at
ending up on the receiving end of extra punishment.

Other students agreed.

"They are getting singled out - I am pretty certain
about that," said Alison Wilson of Oak Bluffs, a senior who
participated in the walkout.

"If anyone should get suspended for being a ringleader it
should be all of us - because Rachel had that personal strength to
say what she was going to do and for Mac to get suspended because he
expressed his opinion - well, that's just wrong," she
added.

Part of a worldwide war protest called Books not Bombs, the student
rally at the high school began on Wednesday morning.

Ty Sinnett, a Chilmark resident and sophomore at the high school,
was the original organizer. Ms. Sinnett said she learned about the
protest after her mother had showed her an article about it in The New
York Times. "I had talked to some of my friends and a lot of kids
thought it was a good idea - it caught on really fast," she
said. Ms. Sinnett spoke to top school administrators on Wednesday
morning to let them know that a walkout was probably going to happen.
After some discussion, she said Mrs. Regan told her she would provide
space in the Performing Arts Center at noontime for any students who
wanted to attend.

An announcement went out over the public address system and shortly
after noon, some 600 students filed into the Performing Arts Center.
There are 800 students in the high school.

An open mike was offered, and the peace rally, planned as a
20-minute affair, went on for more than an hour.

Drew de Geofroy, a high school senior who is co-editor of the
student newspaper High School View, said the speakers covered a wide
range of viewpoints.

"It was pretty civilized for a protest - when kids
voiced their opinions the whole place would erupt in applause, but it
was pretty orderly," he said. Mr. de Geofroy will write about the
event next week.

He said Mr. Schilcher stood out as a speaker. "He had the most
facts of anyone and he really presented them well. He was definitely
anti-war, but he was also really educating kids about the facts,"
Mr. de Geofroy said.

Toward the end or the rally Mr. de Geofroy said Ms. Lucier took the
stage and announced that she would walk out. About 80 students followed.
Mr. de Geofroy described the walkout as spirited.

"There was a lot of energy, although I did think that some
people took it a little too far - one kid got on the roof of
somebody's car and they were driving around," he said.
"A lot of the people who were driving by got into it and you would
see an old lady 70 years old slamming on her horn and going,
‘Yeah!' " Mr. de Geofroy said he does not expect to
face punishment for being present at the walkout since he was covering
it as a journalist.

As events unfolded yesterday, Mr. de Geofroy said the story got more
complicated.

"This is probably the biggest story that has ever happened to
us. I am looking at past issues of our paper now and we have stories
about the school play, teachers retiring, the dress code - there
has never been an open student rebellion about something that they feel
strongly about, at least not in my time here," he said.

Mrs. Regan said the Saturday school session will include discussion
workshops on some of the great names in history associated with civil
disobedience: Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau.

But some student leaders said they have already had their lesson.

"I personally don't think it's very fair that
Rachel and Mac took the fall for this - everyone who went outside
was very well aware of the consequences," said Ms. Sinnett, who
did not participate in the walkout. "I think a lot of kids think
the penalties are unfair. I think they believe we are taught in school
to stand up for what we believe in and we're told that this is
what America is all about and here we are standing up for what we
believe in. Mac was the best speaker - he really had his facts
straight and he inspired other people to learn and now he's being
penalized for it, for strongly believing in something," she added.

"I knew that walking out had consequences and I knew I was not
getting off scot-free, but this is garbage," said Mr. Schilcher,
who said he will appeal the extra suspension.

"I thought this was the best, most informative thing the
school has ever allowed us to do - it created a forum for a lot of
kids to have their ears opened, and I don't want the aftermath of
that to hinder having another one of these," he said.

Ms. Lucier said she has not decided yet whether to attend Saturday
school or take the suspension.

Ms. Wilson said she, too, has not decided which punishment to
choose.

"In my view this walkout was not a protest to our school and
community but instead it was to show our school and community how
strongly the students feel about the war," she said.

"It was a national walkout, and lots of other high schools
closed for the day or had a half day to allow it to happen," said
Ms. Lucier, concluding: